July 1, 2008

Educators Give High Marks to Cisco Video Solutions

by ssavage

NECC -- Educational institutions have been some of the earliest adopters of collaboration technologies to help bridge communications across districts, connect students around the world, and enable new kinds of learning modes. Today, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced that K-12 school districts and higher learning institutions are again embracing new technology, this time in the form of video applications, such as desktop video and digital signage, to quickly share information across campuses, throughout classrooms and directly to students' desktops.

The integration of visual networking experiences into a learning environment has helped many K-12 school districts create a more dynamic, engaging classroom for students. For example, the Mobile (Ala.) County Public School System uses the Cisco DMS Desktop Video solution to share educational videos on demand to complement the day's lesson. Teachers have immediate access to a "playlist" of videos, which gives them the flexibility to alter and create more compelling lesson plans at any time.

"Recent advancements in video are changing the way school administrators, faculty and students work together to create a stronger community," said David Akridge, chief information officer, Mobile County Public Schools. "Our students are tech-savvy and are clamoring for new tools to help them better collaborate with each other. With the Cisco Digital Media System, we've created a new classroom environment that will prepare them for the 21st-century workplace."

In addition to in-classroom learning, one high school in the district uses DMS to pre-record a student-hosted show called, "Education Today," that gives students the opportunity to try their hand at broadcasting and offer insights into campus happenings. The district has also extended the reach of the Cisco Digital Media System beyond the classroom by broadcasting live video from school events, such as graduation ceremonies. In the future, it plans to broadcast football games, theater musicals and other activities, so students' families and other viewers can watch from computers at home or other non-campus locations. Mobile County Public Schools are also establishing new partnerships with higher education institutions to offer students the opportunity to participate remotely in college preparatory courses.

The Cisco Digital Media System is also improving communications for colleges and universities. DMS is providing students with the flexibility to access live and on-demand content from anywhere on campus. Students, for example, can attend an interesting lecture at their desktops without ever leaving their dorm rooms. Enterprise TV delivers on-demand videos and broadcasts live TV channels over an Internet Protocol (IP) network to digital signs throughout campus. Digital signs additionally play a significant role in notifying students of important information, including schedule changes, upcoming events and news alerts.

"The education sector has quickly realized the benefits of bringing digital media into the classroom and into a campus environment," said Thomas Wyatt, senior director and general manager, Cisco's Digital Media Systems business unit. "The Cisco Digital Media System provides educational institutions with the ability to use video communications to greatly enhance students' experiences and accelerate learning."

The Cisco Digital Media System

The Cisco Digital Media System supports the delivery of high-quality, dynamic digital media communications for more than 600 customers around the world. Educational institutions, both K-12 and higher education, are one of the largest sectors adopting these new advancements in video. Recent DMS deployments include College of Southern Nevada, CY Fair College of the Lonestar College System in Texas, Bapatla Engineering College in India, University of Muenster in Germany, and GEMS World Academy in Dubai.

Earlier this month, Cisco announced the availability of Cisco Digital Media System 5.0, the industry's first integrated platform for a suite of digital signage, Enterprise TV and desktop video applications. This new version included the introduction of a new Cisco Digital Media Player 4400G and major advancements for the company's existing digital signage and desktop video applications.

The Cisco Digital Media System is a key component of Cisco's business video strategy, which combines systems and services, using the network as the platform, to enable end-to-end, any-to-any video solutions that create powerful visual networking experiences.

Cisco at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC)

For more information on Cisco Digital Media Systems for K-12, please visit the Cisco Booth 7178, Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas, or visit us online at www.cisco.com/go/dms

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

Cisco, the Cisco logo and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.

For direct RSS Feeds of all Cisco news, please visit "News@Cisco" at the following link: